Friday, February 21, 2014

I like watching award shows basically for two reasons: it is great to see my favorite actors and directors get awarded – which, unfortunately, doesn’t happen as often as I would like – and I also love seeing the dresses and hairdos worn by the stars (to later comment on the hits and misses). :D

There is, however, another really good reason: TV shows or movies I haven’t heard of, interesting things to look up and maybe add to my already long “to watch” list.
It was because of Elisabeth Moss’ win at this year’s Golden Globe that I learned of Top of the Lake, and what a great mini-series it is: a dark story created and director by Jane Campion – a badass director whose work I admire –, it is set in beautiful locations in New Zealand, with great writing and acting. I already liked Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson – probably the best thing in Mad Men – and here she’s even more fantastic. She truly deserves the GG she took home, and I don’t know how the Globes ignored Peter Mullan, absolutely amazing as the terrifying Matt.

As does The Fall, Top of the Lake discusses violence against women and its consequences – not an easy subject to watch but completely necessary to be portrayed (and here it is done in a very realistic way).

I got addicted to Top of the Lake after minutes only and watched the seven episodes in a matter of days (unfortunately there won’t be additional seasons); every time I saw the characters walking near that cold water I felt like having a cup of tea – and a slice of cake wouldn’t hurt, either. :D

This is a recipe I made because I found the combination of hazelnut, cinnamon and coconut an unusual one, and it turned out to be a delicious one (and the yogurt makes the cake moist and tender to boot).

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Generously butter a 12-cup nonstick capacity Bundt pan – if using a regular pan without nonstick coating, butter and flour it (I was stubborn and used a 10-cup capacity pan, so I had to bake the excess batter in a 1-cup mini pan).
Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs and sugar together until thick and pale. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, corn starch, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in the oil, yogurt, coconut and hazelnuts until combined. Stir in the egg mixture.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour/1 hour 20 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 15 minutes, then carefully unmold onto the rack. Cool completely.
In a small bowl, combine the icing sugar and cinnamon, then sift the mixture over the cake.

* I only buy large eggs, so I chose the smallest 4 in the package to use in this recipe